A Different Kind of Scrooging
by LuckyDuck29
Summary: Georgie comes back to give Spinelli one last Christmas gift, the one only she can give him. She shows him his true value. Thanks to my beta reader, Sue Rum. Please see my profile for the link to the ld29info forum for the author’s notes.


Spinelli smiled again as he thought of Maximista's Christmas gift. She had thought of him. Why had he worried about her being interested in Johnny? It was true that she liked to drive Lulu to distraction, and to that end she had agreed to sleep with Johnny for twenty thousand dollars. But she had decided against it when Claudia had tried to turn Spinelli against her by telling him about the arrangement. Other than trying to upset Lulu, Maxie had no other reason for interacting in a Biblical manner with The Former Mob Prince.

But she also didn't love Spinelli, not the way he loved her. She thought of him as a brother, as was true with most of the women he encountered. The only one who had thought of him as more was Georgie and he'd found out too late. He had made her feel invisible and hadn't even known, and Maxie was now doing the same to him, again without knowing. He supposed it was poetic justice; he had unintentionally spurned Georgie, so now her sister was unintentionally spurning him.

Why was he suddenly having such dark thoughts on such a day as this? Christmas was a time for joy and peace, not regret and inner conflict.

His thoughts turned to Jason. Stone Cold was full of regret, guilt, remorse and self-deprecation. He was pushing Elizabeth and Jake away. Spinelli had lost count of how many times he had pushed people away, supposedly for their own good. There were times when he thought Jason was doing it more to punish himself than for their safety, especially since Michael had been shot. That had been one of the reasons he had refused to leave when Jason had suggested that he move out. He didn't want Jason to push everyone who cared about him away until he was completely alone. If he managed to shun everyone else, he wanted to make sure Jason knew he would never be alone, that The Jackal would forever remain Stone Cold's most loyal and trusted friend.

Spinelli had very few friends, and even fewer true friends. Maxie and Jason were really the only ones who fell under that category, even when they were acting self-involved or as if they didn't care, he knew without a doubt how much they really did care.

As much as he wished he could, he couldn't count even Lulu in the category of true friend. Maxie and Jason had defended Spinelli when he needed it. They had never punished him for being honest. They had never shoved him away out of anger because he disagreed with them. They had never avoided him for weeks at a time because he had dared to voice an opinion they didn't share. Lulu was for Lulu most of the time, and of course whoever her current boyfriend was at the time.

He admitted that he was wrong about Johnny. He hadn't admitted it to anyone allowed, only to himself. But he hoped that his attitude and the fact that he bought a Christmas tree specifically from Johnny was a show of how he now respected The Former Mob Prince and admired him for leaving the only life he ever knew. He only wished Stone Cold could do the same. What better reason was there to get out of this life than a child, and the possibility of being with the woman you love? He didn't understand why Stone Cold kept putting Mr. Corinthos, Sir, a man who had been stabbing him in the back repeatedly for months, above his own family.

Poor Mr. Sir! The poor Valkyrie! This would be the first Christmas since Michael had been shot. He had to admit that he felt more sorry for Carly than he did for Sonny. If Sonny hadn't gone traipsing around Port Charles without guards, this may have been avoided. Then Sonny had tried to get out of the mob by forcing the business on Jason, who had accepted only under the condition that Sonny give up all rights to his boys.

What had Stone Cold received in return for his selfless sacrifice? What had been The Master's reward? Sonny had allowed yet another mob boss into Port Charles. He had facilitated Karpov's arrival and then had shot him and started a mob war, leaving Jason to clean up yet another shambles that Sonny had made. Sonny had single-handedly destroyed the delicate balance The Master had struck. Now everyone was paying for it, except Sonny, who was again The Godfather, this time of the Zacchara organization. Michael's unfortunate condition had taught Sonny absolutely nothing.

But apparently Carly had not learned anything either. Spinelli had overheard her and Jason arguing before. Carly had allowed Sonny to see Morgan. Spinelli knew what a slap in the face that was for Jason; Morgan's safety was the reason Stone Cold had agreed to take the business from Mr. Sir.

Spinelli had been in his pink room, still trying to figure out what was wrong. Something was off; he could feel it. He just didn't know what. There was a trace of something in Cyberspace, something to do with The Jackal. Something was out of place.

Could someone have hacked into the system? He was not cocky enough to think that was entirely impossible; there were times when he came off sounding very arrogant when he talked of his prowess in Cyberspace, but he knew the truth. He was the Assassin of the Internet, but there were also many other assassins out there. There was no such thing as hacker proof. It was entirely possible, however unlikely, that someone could get into the system. If that had happened, he needed to find out how, do a hack back and destroy that person's systems before he or she could use Spinelli's pilfered information against him and Stone Cold.

"What is wrong with you!"

Spinelli jumped. His door was closed, but Jason was yelling so loudly downstairs that it sounded almost as if he was right there in the room with him.

"What was the purpose of me taking over the business for Sonny? What was my one condition? I told him I'd take the business if he gave up Morgan for his own safety! Now you're telling me you're letting Sonny see him? I gave up Jake and Elizabeth for you so you could keep your other son safe after what happened to Michael!"

Spinelli had never known Jason to lose control like this. He was worried about what would happen. Stone Cold had every right to his fury, but Spinelli didn't want him to endanger himself, or Carly. He closed his laptop, whipped open his bedroom door and ran downstairs.

"Jason, please, don't yell at me!"

Carly was close to tears and her pleading tone gave her voice a pathetic, whining quality.

"No! I sacrificed everything for you! Sonny got out, at least for a while, and I stayed in! Jake was kidnapped and Morgan is fine!"

"What are you saying?" Carly asked, horrified.

Spinelli knew Carly was misunderstanding. Stone Cold was not saying that he wished Morgan had been the one kidnapped; Jason loved Morgan, too. His point was that steps were being taken to protect Jake and Morgan, but Carly was wrecking it in Morgan's case for her own selfish reasons. Spinelli agreed and prayed that The Valkyrie would once again come to her senses.

"I'm saying I gave up my family for nothing! I tried to keep Jake out of danger and The Russians took him! You're putting Morgan back in danger! Do you wanna lose him, too? Do you want him to end up in the bed next to Michael's?"

Carly gasped and covered her face.

"Jason!" she pleaded through her fingers.

"Get out!"

She stood there for a few seconds, staring at him through her fingers as tears leaked through them.

"Right now!"

Carly threw a desperate look at Spinelli, as if asking him to intercede on her behalf. Before he could even think of anything to say, Jason interjected.

"Don't bother asking Spinelli for help; this is between you and me! There's nothing he can do for you! Go see Sonny if you want, or go find Jax and try to get him to forgive you! It's not like anything anyone else thinks matters to you, anyway! It doesn't matter that Morgan's in danger again because of you and Sonny as long as Carly gets what Carly wants! Get outa here before I say something I'll regret later!"

"You'll forgive me," Carly sniffed. "You always forgive me. You can't stay mad at me!"

Spinelli thought she was trying to convince herself rather than Jason.

With a last, desperate look at Jason, Carly turned around and ran out of the penthouse, sobbing and slamming the door behind her.

That had been four hours ago. Jason had sat on the couch, fuming, looking as if he wanted to kill someone. Spinelli tentatively picked up Jason's empty glass and handed it to him.

Jason looked at it, puzzled, then annoyed.

"The Jackal neglected to refill his master's glass for a reason. Stone Cold looks to be in a mood for violence; he may wish to break something and empty cutlery can be easily replaced and cleaned up, although there is a risk of someone accidentally cutting themselves on the broken cutlery, in which case-"

"Breaking things is Sonny's way of dealing with things, not mine," Jason said shortly.

Spinelli took the glass and put it back on the table.

"Sorry," he said softly, staring off into the distance, something he tended to do when he was unhappy or insecure; at the moment, he was both.

Jason sighed and threw his arms out to his sides, which was a characteristic gesture of anger or disgust. Spinelli knew then that he had handled this situation badly, as usual.

"I'm not mad at you. It's late. Why don't you go to bed?"

He knew exactly what that meant. What Jason was really saying was that he was angry and did not wish to take his fury out on his Grasshopper. Spinelli had gone back up to his pink room, but had not gone to bed. He wasn't tired.

He was too worried to sleep. Not only was it possible that someone had breached his defenses in Cyberspace, but his friends were in pain and there was nothing he could do.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Four hours later, he was beginning to feel sleepy. His theory that someone had hacked into his computer was only a feeling and so far there was no real evidence. He just felt like something was out of place; he wished he could explain it. But for now, there was nothing he could do in this situation either. He would sleep on it and maybe things would clarify themselves in the morning.

As he brushed his teeth, he wondered, as he frequently did, what his purpose was outside Cyberspace. There he was in complete control, although even that control seemed to be slipping at the moment. But everything he tried to do in the non-Cyber world seemed to back fire in one way or another.

How many times had he caused trouble for himself or others by trying to do something good, or at least something brave, and having it go horribly wrong? He had shot himself in the foot. Jason had taken the blame so he wouldn't have to go to jail.

He had entered an elevator and it had stopped after he had pounded the buttons in panic, leaving him and Stone Cold trapped with a pregnant woman. She and her baby, already in danger, had nearly died.

Later, the mother had died. That happened because Jolene had sabotaged the elevator, but he still felt guilty. He had been infatuated with The Falsely Fair Jolene. He had been in the elevator. He still couldn't help feeling that if he'd done more, or better yet if he had not even been there, Stacey Sloan would still be alive and The Charmed One would not have to grow up without her mother.

Georgie had loved him and been killed. He had failed to find the Text Message Killer in time. He had been on a wild goose chase at the time. She had died thinking that he didn't love her. He had loved her dearly, as a friend, and if given time it might have grown into something else. The thought struck him again that if he'd seen how she'd felt about him sooner she might have been with him that day. She might not have gone into the park alone, or if she had gone into the park he might have been with her and been able to save her. Together, they might have caught Diego Alcazar before he'd managed to kill Georgie, and then Coop, and Maxie would not have had her heart broken twice more.

Maxie kept telling him how important he was to her, but what had he really done for even her? She had still made that arrangement with Claudia. She had told Elizabeth that she'd seen Sam and Jason together after promising Spinelli she would be discrete. She still considered herself unworthy of love and happiness, which caused her to make very self-destructive decisions.

He knew he hadn't impacted Lulu's life in a positive or significant way. Logan had still hurt her and she'd been forced to kill him. Maybe if he hadn't tried so hard to keep her from choosing Logan she would not have chosen him and would not have been put in that situation. Maybe if Spinelli had fought back that day in the Coffee House instead of allowing Logan to lay him out on the floor, Lulu would have respected Spinelli enough to listen to him when he tried to warn her away from The Crabby Commando. He had failed her and she had been forced to kill a man, however deserving he was after he had tried to hurt first Maximista, then the Blonde One.

Killing Logan had nearly driven Lulu insane. She had almost lost her mind because Spinelli had failed to protect her. He stared absently at his reflection in the mirror, thinking that it was no wonder she didn't love him romantically. "What self-respecting woman would?" he thought miserably. "The Jackal knows he is a hopeless, pathetic wimp. He will never be Stone Cold, no matter how hard he tries or what he does."

Stone Cold was the least person affected by his presence. He was still alone. He had The Jackal, but Spinelli didn't count himself among one of Jason's things to be thankful for at the moment. Jason was hurting and Spinelli was powerless to help him.

Tonight was a perfect example. He had attempted to comfort, or at the very least, commiserate with Jason, but instead he'd only given him a breakable item and babbled on and on about broken cutlery and the dangers it could pose. Even worse, he had compared Jason to Sonny, which was the very last thing his friend needed at this point.

Such ineptitude was usually the case with him outside Cyberspace. Spinelli's good intentions were either failures or disasters. Only in Cyberspace did he truly feel of any real and lasting self-worth.

But Cyberspace was slipping beyond his control, too. Someone had possibly compromised his security. Someone may have information that could, at this very moment, be endangering him and his Master. If someone had really copied his files, or breached his system in any way, Spinelli and Jason might wake up to find the police at their door, eager to arrest them for their crimes and having plenty of evidence. If this was true, Spinelli was failing Jason in Cyberspace as well as out.

He was too tired to think. As much as he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he knew it would have to wait until morning, if he wasn't in jail by then. He knew that trying to delve further into the situation in a state of exhaustion would only make things worse; he would only become more confused.

As he slid under the covers and drifted off into an uneasy sleep, he wondered if it might be better if he could find a way to stay in Cyberspace forever. Maybe it would have even been better for everyone he cared about if he'd never come to Port Charles.

It was dark when he woke. He must not have been asleep for long. His room was pitch black.

He suddenly became nervous. It was unnaturally black. This didn't feel like his room either. Where was he?"

"Hi, Spinelli," a soft, friendly voice said.

He jumped and whirled around to face the speaker, intending to demand to know where he was and who she was. But his words of false bravado died in his throat and stuck there. He couldn't speak now, not even if someone held a gun to his head and threatened to kill every single person he loved.

"I've missed you," Georgie said.

She noticed the look on his face.

"It's OK, Spinelli. I know this is a bad shock for you."

"Are you real?" he asked in a small, breathless voice.

"I'm as real as you want me to be."

"What a cryptic remark," he thought. "It is most unlike Wise Georgie to be so mysterious."

"Where is this place?" he managed weakly. "Has The Jackal died?"

"No," she said gently, "you're still alive. I've come to show you something."

"Show me what?"

"I've been sent to show you what would have happened over the past two years if you'd never come to Port Charles. I can't show you what would happen if you stayed in Cyberspace forever because we both know it's impossible for you to do that."

"I do," he said sadly.

"But you need to know what our lives would have been like if we'd never met you."

"In most cases, they would not be much different. In others, they would be much better."

"Do you really think that?"

She looked sad. He nodded.

"Come with me then. Let me show you."

He hesitated. It scared him to actually know how much better off his friends would be without him.

"Spinelli, please, you need to see this."

Georgie's gentle tone was almost hypnotic. He took her hand; his own hand shook a little.

"It'll be OK," she said in that same gentle tone.

They walked through the wall. Spinelli didn't have time to be surprised. Later, he would look back and wonder why he would have been surprised. If his dead friend could take his hand, why couldn't they walk through a wall?

"Where did we just come from?" Spinelli asked on the way to- on the way to wherever she was taking him.

"The void," she said cryptically.

"The void?"

"The void between life and death, between wakefulness and sleep, between reality and dreams."

Spinelli didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing.

"Do you remember this?" she asked, stopping at an office.

"This is the office of Evil Al. Who's that with him?"

"That's the hacker he hired. You were not in Port Charles, so he couldn't hire you."

"Don't worry, Mr. Alcazar," the angry-looking man said. "I'll make sure Sam McCall goes to jail for a very long time."

The man was a bit older than Spinelli. His hair was jet black and his black eyes had no warmth in them. The Angry One reminded Spinelli of Lord Voldemort.

He and Georgie watched the entire scene play out. It was horrible, nothing like Spinelli remembered it! The Angry One decided to burn the evidence of his crimes and then disappear completely, using a fake passport and fake identification, rather than going to someone for help. Spinelli thought he must be a career criminal, or at least a career criminal in the making.

It wasn't the criminal part of his job that Spinelli loved; it was the respect and the value Stone Cold placed on him. The money didn't hurt either, but that was secondary.

Spinelli watched in horror as the judge convicted Sam of the crimes she did not commit and she was sent to jail. Jason watched, motionless and tortured. There was nothing he could do to help Sam now.

"This happened because it was not The Jackal who worked for Evil Al?"

Georgie nodded sadly.

"No matter what you want people to think, Spinelli, you're not a criminal. Mack's wrong about you. Jason and his lieutenants do the killing, but you're their tech support and as long as you're in this business that's all you should be. You're too kind-hearted to ever intentionally cause anyone any real harm. If it hadn't been for you, Sam would be in prison now."

"What about Stone Cold and Elizabeth? I'm sorry this happened to Sam, but maybe they can still be happy."

Georgie shook her head and Spinelli thought she might cry. She took his hand again and led him away.

"Where are we going now?"

"I need to show you what would have happened during the hostage crisis without you."

Spinelli felt his stomach drop. He knew instinctively that he was not going to like this. Georgie looked so sad.

He watched as Jerry Jax detonated the explosives and made a run for it. Jason and Stan were there and Spinelli saw his friend and mentor blown back against a wall and buried under the rubble. This time, no one made it out of the Metro Court. Alan would die later at the hospital. Monica had lost Emily, Jason and Alan that day. Elizabeth died before Baby Jake's birth. Spencer Cassodine was left without a father; he was now an orphan, and so were Michael and Morgan. Maxie and Coop, still locked in the vault with the briefcase, were also killed. Robin died, so she was not here to marry Patrick an Baby Emma would never exist.

"But Nurse Epiphany's son-"

Spinelli's shock, grief and horror prevented him from finishing the sentence. Why couldn't Stan have opened the vault and helped Jason rescue everyone. If Spinelli had, why couldn't Formidable Nurse Epiphany's Cyber Savvy Son?

"He was very good, but The Jackal can get to places even he couldn't go. You knew Cyberspace better. You could have taught him if he'd been willing to learn from you. In fact, you could have learned from each other, in and out of Cyberspace."

"We were rivals in Cyberspace."

"That's one of the reasons he wasn't willing to learn from you. Jason began to rely more and more on you because he knows you were better. It wasn't that Stan was incompetent; it was just that you knew tricks he didn't. Also, you're Jason's friend. Stan was his friend, too, but your friendship is different. You can see into people's hearts; you can and will listen on a personal level and you do everything you can to help in all situations. Stan mostly stuck to business. Jason could never confide in him the way he confides in you."

"Sometimes I think Stone Cold would prefer me to stick to business."

"He acts that way because he's so single-minded when it comes to business, and because he's not good at discussing his feelings, but he does appreciate your friendship. You've been more help to him personally since you came to Port Charles than anyone, especially Sonny."

"Mr. Sir has betrayed My Master."

Georgie nodded.

Spinelli suddenly had a terrible thought.

"Wait; I didn't shoot myself in the foot if I wasn't in Port Charles. Stone Cold would never have taken the night shift at the hospital, and even if there was a reason for him to be there he was dead in this reality by the time The Angel of Death was sabotaging the hospital. What happened?"

"I'll show you."

She took him to the hospital on the day the ambulance exploded. The woman Jason saved was killed; Jason wasn't there to save her.

A few weeks later, Stacey was trapped in the elevator with Leyla. This time, mother and child both died.

A few weeks after that, Jolene managed to kill Toussaint and MedCam took over the hospital. But Jolene would not live to see that happen. That night, she, Regina, Leyla, Epiphany, Patrick and several other people were killed in the gang shootout, including two people Jason would have been there to save in the original history. He had prevented a violent encounter before the shootout had begun.

"Do you have any idea how many other lives will be lost with all these people dead? Robin, too; all these doctors and nurses are not here anymore, so lives that could have been saved because of their presence and experience have been lost. MedCam was about profit, not patients. They turned away certain people because they didn't have the money to pay for treatment. These people also would have been saved if not for MedCam and the loss of all these hospital staff members. Also, crime is even worse in Port Charles since Sonny and Jason died; the police just can't keep up. The Zacchara's moved in and took over with no trouble; Johnny's following in his father's footsteps. You weren't there to help, so now all of port Charles lives in fear of Anthony and Johnny Zacchara."

Spinelli's head spun. He couldn't believe his presence had had such a profound impact on everyone in Port Charles, whether they liked him or not, whether they knew him or not. He couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility that without him, Stone Cold and many others would have died.

"There's one more person I need to show you."

She took his hand tightly, almost as if trying to comfort him.

"This is what would be happening tonight if you'd never come to Port Charles."

They were at Mack's house. Georgie was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV, which was playing "A Christmas Story." Spinelli's breath caught when he saw her.

"But you're alive!"

"Diego was not the Text Message Killer in this reality. Sam didn't kill Diego and Jason didn't kill Lorenzo; they died before they could, so Diego never killed anyone connected to Sonny and Jason. I didn't see him and he didn't threaten Maxie because she was already dead, so he had no reason to kill me either. In this reality, there was no reason for a Text Message Killer."

"But this is good! If I hadn't come-"

"No, Spinelli, you don't understand. This is not a life I would want. I'm about to get horrible news, and there won't be anyone I love there to comfort me. Dillon went away on location. Robin is dead, and so is Maxie. I'll be completely alone. Things are bad for Skye and her daughter, too. Lorenzo and Diego took them off to Mexico and they're virtual prisoners; they're afraid to leave because Skye's afraid Lorenzo will kill them."

On the TV, Ralphy's father's prized lamp had just been glued back together and fallen apart again. There was a knock at the door and Georgie got up to answer it. Lucky stood there, looking pale and sad.

"Georgie, you need to come with me."

"What's going on?"

Spinelli could see in her face that she was afraid she already knew.

"Please, just put on your coat and-"

"Lucky, what is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Georgie, There was a shootout between the police and the Zacchara's tonight. Mack was killed."

Spinelli watched as Georgie crumpled, sobbing, into Lucky's arms.

"Oh no," he said softly.

The other Georgie, the one still holding his hand, also started to cry. He realized then that she hadn't been trying to comfort him when she'd held his hand so tightly; she'd been trying to receive comfort. He put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as she buried her face in his shoulder.

She sniffled and lifted her head when the tears had mostly stopped.

"Do you see it now?" she asked in a shaky voice. "Do you see how important you are to everyone in this town?"

He couldn't say anything. His mind was still reeling from everything he'd seen."

"You're still not convinced, are you?"

"I just can't believe my absence caused all this loss. I mean, socially inept, bungling, Clumsy, hapless Spinelli? How can The Jackal possibly have such a drastic impact on anything outside Cyberspace?"

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this," she said sadly.\

"Do what?"

"I'm gonna have to take you into the future."

His knowledge of the past and present of this reality made the prospect of its future terrifying. But he knew there was no escaping it. Something also told him that Georgie had no choice, that she was receiving orders from a higher authority."

A year later, Georgie and Dillon stood by Mack's grave. She was crying and Dillon had an arm around her.

"Don't give up your dream, Georgie," Dillon was pleading. "Maxie, Robin and Mack would want you to go. They would have wanted you to go last year."

"I couldn't leave Mack after losing Maxie and Robin, and then when I lost Mack, there was no point. What's the purpose in going abroad, in improving your education, when men like Johnny and Anthony Zacchara can and will take everything away from you? I'm gonna become a prosecutor someday, Dillon. I'm gonna become the DA and when I do the Zacchara's will feel what it's like to lose everything you value!"

Spinelli was horrified by the bitterness in Georgie's tone. She had given up her writing career. She had given up Ibiza. It had been for a worthy cause, but her dreams had been shattered.

Twenty years later, she was the DA and she was looking for anything she could find to destroy the Zacchara organization. Anthony was dead, but Johnny was in charge and as ruthless and cruel as his father. In this reality, there had been no Lulu to make him realize his good side.

She still lived alone in Mack's house. She never got married again; she never had a family. As she was stepping out of the house one morning to go to the office, a gun shot rang out. The bullet struck her in the chest, killing her instantly; the first shot pierced her heart.

"No," Spinelli said in a soft, small, tear choked voice.

Georgie nodded.

"I would have had another twenty years," she told him gently, "but it wouldn't have been worth it, not to me. I would have been the only one left."

She hugged him tightly and he knew she was going to tell him something very important, something she'd wanted to tell him for a long time.

"I love you, Spinelli, and it doesn't matter now that you didn't love me romantically. You did not cause my death. Nothing you did or didn't do could have prevented it. I would have been alive in this reality, but so many other people would have died! I know you loved me as a friend and that was enough for me. If Diego hadn't killed me, maybe we would have ended up together eventually, but it just wasn't meant to be. I was and am grateful for your friendship; I always will be. You have no idea what it means to me that you an Maxie have become friends. I know you love her and now you're in the same position I was, but that's not poetic justice; that's just my sister being self-absorbed. But it goes much deeper than that. She's been abandoned so often by people she loves. Our biological parents were called away by their jobs. BJ, Coop, Jesse and I died. She's terrified of losing someone else. It would destroy her. She's afraid to love you or anyone else because people she loves either die or leave her. She almost lost Robin and Emma recently; if that had happened it would have reinforced her belief that everyone leaves her sooner or later. You need to be patient with her. Be honest, but be patient. She does love you. Whether or not you end up together romantically, you need each other's friendship. If she doesn't choose to be with you, then you will find someone else to love you, someone who will not mistreat you the way Lulu and Maxie have. They didn't mean to, but they did mistreat you. Maxie doesn't even realize she's doing it."

"You think Lulu does?"

"She knows she does. How many times has she apologized to you, but then-"

She stopped and cocked her head to the side, as if listening to something.

"I'm sorry," she said regretfully. "I'm being called back. I have to go. I love you. Be happy."

She smiled at him as she began to fade away, leaving him standing by the dead body of the older Georgie.

"No, please, wait! Don't leave me here! Please, take me back! I wanna go back to my Port Charles, back to my reality, please!"

She looked back at him and tried to speak but was gone before she had the chance.

""No, wait; don't leave me in this horrible place alone! Come back! Please, wait! Take me back; don't leave me here! Come back! Please, I don't wanna stay here; I need to get back to Port Charles! I can't stay here!"

"Spinelli, wake up! You're dreaming! You're at home! Wake up, right now!"

Jason was yelling and shaking his shoulder. He sat bolt upright, breathing hard and shallow. He could feel tears running down his face.

"You're OK," Jason said more softly. "You were dreaming. You're at home; everything's fine."

He was shaking and struggling to catch his breath. Images of the horrible things he had seen in his dream were replaying themselves in his head; the roar of the explosions, the gun fire, the death. Jason was looking at him with concern.

"You don't have dreams like that often, do you? I heard you begging someone not to leave you alone. You kept telling them you had to get back to Port Charles."

"No," Spinelli panted, "that was the worst dream I've ever had."

"What was it?"

He decided not to tell Stone Cold the reason for his dream, only the basics.

"Port Charles was in ruins and everyone I love was killed."

"You're worried about The Russians. Don't worry. We'll run them out of town soon and everything will be back to normal."

Spinelli knew that even Jason didn't believe things would go back to normal. How could they? Poor little Michael was in a permanent coma, Sonny and Jason were no longer friends and Carly had also betrayed Jason, even though she didn't see it that way. Things might go back to normal for Spinelli, but not for Jason. He had lost most of his friends, and his family. His life was in ruins because of Sonny and The Russians. The only person he really had now was The Jackal.

He suddenly found that his dream had given him a whole new perspective. He was a good friend. He supported those he loved; he was there to listen and offer what comfort he could. Georgie had made him see that even when he thought he was useless, he was of some help.

"Do you think it also might have had to do with Georgie? I know the anniversary of her death was a few days ago. I heard you and Maxie talking about it."

Spinelli had not forgotten, but in the race to find Sam, he hadn't had too much time to dwell on it. He and Maxie had gone to her grave together, but that had been after Sam was found and taken to the hospital.

"Maybe," he said in response to Jason's question, finally able to take a few fairly normal breaths. "She was in my dream."

The tears had stopped and he took one final deep breath and was able to breathe normally again.

"You OK now?"

Spinelli nodded, wiping absently at his eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Seven."

It was Christmas morning. Spinelli smiled. He would always miss Georgie, but everyone else he cared about was still alive. He wondered briefly what his life would have been like if he hadn't come to Port Charles. Georgie had shown him what would have happened to everyone here, but what would have happened to him? He decided almost instantly that he didn't even want to think about it.

"Merry Christmas," he said to Jason."

"Merry Christmas."

Jason sounded surprised, as if he'd forgotten that it was Christmas.

He got out of bed slowly and headed for the bathroom, but stopped and looked back when he felt Jason's eyes on him.

"Look, I'm sorry about last night. I know you were trying to help me; I didn't mean to snap at you."

"No apologies necessary."

He smiled happily back at his mentor, feeling peaceful and Zen-like.

"How can you be so happy and relaxed now? I mean, it's good, but after a dream like that-"

"The thought that it was only a dream and none of it was real is most reassuring."

Jason nodded with a rare smile and left the room.

Everyone who encountered Spinelli that day was compelled to return his smile and his wishes for a merry Christmas. None of them could explain why, but his good cheer was infectious; even Port Charles's resident Scrooges and Grinches found themselves smiling back at him.

He stopped at the hospital, looked around the tenth floor as if seeing it for the first time, then handed Epiphany a package.

"For the staff, and for those patients unfortunate enough to have to be here instead of home with their families this Christmas."

Epiphany opened it, smiled and showed Elizabeth, Nadine and Leyla. The package contained several Christmas cards, some addressed to the staff and some addressed to no one, but each with a different message.

"Thank you," Epiphany said. "But- I mean- I mean-"

Spinelli smiled at her confused expression.

"The Jackal had a dream last night that has given him a whole new appreciation for life in general."

"You got Scrooged?"

Epiphany looked amused now, causing Spinelli to laugh.

"He's no Scrooge," Nadine said, grinning affectionately at him.

"The Jackal is no Scrooge," he agreed, "but for a few moments last night he was George Bailey." He paused in thought. "Although the dream I had was kind of like what happened to Scrooge, but also what happened to George."

"Did you fall asleep watching "It's a Wonderful Life?" Matt Hunter asked, coming out of a patient's room.

"No, I just- it's hard to explain. Suffice it to say, I'm just grateful that we're all alive this Christmas."

He glanced at the cards in Epiphany's hands.

"I figured you would know which cards to give which patients. I mean, maybe you know of a particular patient who might find comfort or inspiration in a particular card?"

"I'm sure I do. Thank you, Mr. Spinelli, and have a merry Christmas."

He left the hospital feeling happier and more useful than he had in a very long time.

For Maxie and Lulu, what would be a minor disagreement for most people was a full blown argument. They were having one of these when Spinelli arrived. Johnny had gone to see Claudia for a few minutes to wish her a merry  
Christmas, so the girls were alone in the apartment they shared.

"What are you grinning at?" Maxie asked irritably when she saw Spinelli watching them argue.

"I had a horrible nightmare last night."

"That's a good thing?" Lulu asked, confused.

"In it, you were both dead, along with everyone else I love who lives here in Port Charles. I'm just glad you two are here to argue."

They exchanged startled looks.

"How did we die?" Lulu asked.

"In the hostage crisis, in the explosion."

"You still dream about that?" Maxie asked with concern.

"It is not a normal occurrence, or a recurring dream. I dreamed about a lot of things last night and they were all part of the same dream. The only good part of it was that I was able to see and interact with Wise Georgie."

Maxie looked pensive for a moment, and Lulu was respectfully silent.

As he looked at his two Blonde Ones,, Georgie's words concerning Maxie replayed themselves in his mind.

"She's been abandoned so often by people she loves. She's terrified of losing someone else. It would destroy her. She's afraid to love you or anyone else because people she loves either die or leave her. You need to be patient with her. Be honest, but be patient. She does love you. If she doesn't choose to be with you, then you'll find someone else to love you."

She was right. He had wanted Lulu to love him in the past and that had not happened. He wanted Maxie to love him and at the moment she didn't, which didn't mean she wouldn't in the future. But for now, the present was enough for him. He had their friendship and that was good enough for him. Whether or not his relationship with Maxie became more, he would just have to wait and see. Either way, he was grateful just to have these two strong-willed, independent, and in some cases thick-headed women in his life.

Maxie had put Christmas bells on the door. As Johnny opened the door and came in, the bells rang and they heard the little girl's voice in "It's a Wonderful Life" from a TV in another apartment.

"Look, Daddy! Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."

Spinelli smiled. He envisioned Georgie, bright light surrounding her, holding her arms up as her wings magically appeared at her sides. She didn't have wings in his dream, but he was sure she'd earned them a long time ago. She'd been an angel in life; surely she would very quickly become worthy of wings when she reached the spiritual realm. He knew that with her watching over them, the citizens of Port Charles would never be in safer hands.


End file.
